


I fell for you again under the camera lights

by Kellex48



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-05 21:27:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15179753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kellex48/pseuds/Kellex48
Summary: LAFC announce an expansion team along with a Netflix documentary that will follow the team in their inaugural season and throughout preparation for the World Cup. Kelley and Alex are announced as the team’s biggest signings both making their big return to California. They had previously lived in California both together and apart however this time would be different than any time previously. They are stars, they are best friends, they are ex’s, they are going to be roommate once again and ultimately fall in love for the second time under the camera lights.





	1. Where it all Began

**Author's Note:**

> Y’all be nice this is my first attempt to ever write a fic. The goal of this all is to have shorter updates more often. Let me know what you think and if I should continue.

**Official NWSL Press Release**

**October 18th 2018**

**The NWSL is happy to announce that the league will once again have 10 teams with the addition of the expansion team LAFC. The league could not be more pleased with the decision to add more west coast teams and bring soccer back to the state of California. Social media accounts are now active and able to be followed on twitter, instagram, snapchat, and youtube at LAFC Women. Follow all channels closely for updates regarding team signings, tickets, jersey release, and further information.**

\--

Word had been circulating on twitter among reporters and woso fans alike about the expansion side LAFC, the only group talking about this more than the dedicated fans was the players themselves.  
In true NWSL fashion the players have been fairly left in the dark and most conversation had been mainly based around speculation.

The first thing Kelley thought to do after getting out of the gym and seeing the official press release was to text Alex.

\--

Alex was sitting on the couch in her apartment just finishing up breakfast, getting ready for the day ahead of her when she heard the ding of her phone she was trying so hard to avoid. This ringtone was different from all the others, she knew exactly who it was before reaching for her phone.

**Captain Kel (3)**

**Hey Lex, hope I’m not waking you, I know its early in the morning, but did you see the official announcement LAFC got the team!! I really hope we both end up there.**

**Together again.**

**Can you imagine us together in LA again?**

Alex can see the three bubbles signifying Kelley is still typing but begins writing back anyways.

“Kells Kells I miss you, I know I hope I can get traded away from Orlando this last season was not my season and I’ve been having a tough time, attendance sucked and I feel like the fans were against me”

Alex continues typing

“How could I forget the last time we lived in LA together, you’re still in my phone as Captain Kel”

Alex hits send before getting caught up in a daydream one she’s lived out in her past.

\--

_“Alex please come surfing with me you don’t have to do anything just sit on my board and I will paddle, please just try once, its been month’s of you just sitting on this beach watching me. If you do it this once, this one thing for me I’ll never ask anything from you again” Kelley exclaims._

_Alex just rolls her eyes knowing it’ll only be an hour at most before Kelley is too tired to carry her surfboard to the car and begs Alex to do it for her. Alex is a sucker for her girl so of course she will do it, just like she agreed to sit on that surfboard she was once so afraid of._

_Kelley grabs Alex’s hand and helps her up “Come on Al we don’t have all day, I promise it’ll be fun”_

_All Alex can think is there’s nothing she has done with Kelley thus far that has been anything short of an adventure, she’s the one person who really brings her out of her comfort zone._

_Alex sits on the front of the surf board, Kelley paddling behind her when she starts laughing hysterically, Alex knew she hadn’t embarrassed herself yet and asks Kel what’s up._

_Kell replies “Lex I am steering this board like it’s a boat, that makes me your captain”_

_Alex thinks Captain Kel I can get used to the sound of that and continues fearing for her life gripping on the surfboard like her life depended on it._

_Kelley paddled hard, stood up and caught a tiny wave, she knew better than to do anything too crazy with Alex around. Alex was shocked she got through it safely, Kelley continued leading Alex around on the water when she got the courage to catch the biggest wave yet, and her foot hit Alex’s back she lost balance and landed in the water._

_“Kel Kel are you alright” Alex screams terrified trying to help Kelley out of the water “I am so sorry I didn’t mean for you to trip over me”_

_Kel pulls herself back up on the board straddling the board facing Alex “I am fine just give me a second to catch my breath, also it wouldn’t be the first time I fell for you”_

_Alex instinctively places her hand on Kelley’s arm and starts rubbing her for comfort giving Kelley a small smile even though she is still petrified. Kelley will never get sick of how much care Alex shows for her. She has fallen off this board too many times to count, she was fine, but for Alex this was the first time and a scary experience to watch the woman she loved under the water and out of her vision. Alex knew then she never wanted to let Kelley get away from her again._

_Alex begins speaking “Kel can we go back to land now I am hungry and I’ve had enough of being on the water.”_

_Kelley just smiles and begins paddling back to shore. Once they arrive at their towels Kelley plops down and motions Alex to come sit with her, Alex sits in Kelley’s lap leaning her head into Kelley’s chest._

_They sit there in comfortable silence for a while watching the water, Kelley playing with Alex’s hairwhene Alex reminds Kelley how hungry she is and they agree to pack their stuff up and head to their favorite diner._

_Just like Alex knew it would go down Kelley begins packing up her stuff and claiming she is so tired before looking to her girlfriend with the softest puppy dog eyes “Lex you know how much I love you right, and you know how happy I am that you agreed to come surfing with me today, I just”_

_Alex stops her there and starts laughing “ Yes captain I’ll lead the way on this one and carry your board to the car and yes I will drive to brunch.”_

_Kel kisses her girlfriend on the head and starts running for the car._

\--

Alex snaps out of her daydream when she hears a loud metal clanging noise. It’s her dog Blue dragging his food bowl around begging for his breakfast. Just like that reality comes crashing down on her. No matter how great her love with Kel was she had lost it when they couldn’t handle the distance. Yes they were still best friends (although some might claim it is more) and yes they were in a good place but Alex herself was not. After things didn’t work with Kelley she was in a bad place sure there was the high of winning the World Cup but nothing could shake her sadness. When she got traded to Orlando she reconnected with her old boyfriend Servando and they had moved in together and got a dog. Once again Alex couldn’t make a relationship work she took this very personally as if she was the root of all problems. Here Alex was in a city she hated, a single dog mom well on her way to being 30.

Blue came and nudged Alex’s hand, clearly she had been so sidetracked in thought she still forgot to feed him. She walked over to the kitchen filled his bowl with food and water and sat at the kitchen table.

Back to where she was before going deeper down the hole of despair. Alex secretly knew the reason her relationship with Serv didn’t work out was not because of her, well it was, but mostly because she was still in love with Kelley, and Serv knew that but gave her a second chance anyways.

Alex needed a distraction and she wasn’t getting it here, she decided to walk Blue once he was finished eating. She headed to the bedroom to get changed into some more presentable clothing. Upon returning to the kitchen she picked up her phone to 5 missed texts.

**Momma Morgan (1)**

**I saw the NWSL is getting a team in LA would love to have you back home kiddo. I love you call me soon.**

**Captain Kel (4)**

**Are you okay Lex you have me worried?**

**Those were some pretty special times weren’t they.**

**Do you need me to fly out there I don’t have much going on right now, I hate seeing you so upset about soccer, its been months since the season ended, and you’re thriving on the national team. I just want you to be happy.**

**Al? Talk to me don’t ignore me.**

Alex grabs Blue’s leash and he comes running, she grabs a water bottle, her keys, and her phone and walks out the door. She heads toward the park at the end of her street once again letting her mind run wild and emotions take over. Orlando does not feel like home at all and she would do almost anything to leave. At the park she lets Blue off the leash and decides it’s probably best to just call Kelley.

On the second ring Alex hears “ Lex it’s so good to hear from you”

Alex nervously laughs and says “Hey Kells, to answer your texts yes I am doing okay its just been a rough few days, I have been trying to nurse this calf injury and nothing seems to be going my way lately”

Kelley’s first thought “ Alex are you sure you don’t want me to come out there like I said I will”

“Kelley I am fine can we talk about something else?”

Kelley understands Alex doesn’t want to talk about it so she does something else to try and cheer Alex up. “ Can you imagine if we do get traded, I’d feed you so many good balls and we would tear up the NWSL together for the first time”

God this is all Alex wants, is it pathetic if she tells Kel that though? She decides to keep it casual “That would be something pretty great, not only for our teams sake but also for us personally.”

Alex looks up and sees Blue has managed to get in the water in the time she’s been distracted on the phone. “Hey, I gotta go Blue got in the water and it is so muddy I need to get him out bye I love you worms.” Blue is lucky that Alex really loves that damn dog.

\--

Just like that silence on the other end of the phone. The first thing Kelley does is get her computer to book a flight to see her best friend, regardless if that’s what she’s claimed she wants or not.

Once Kelley gets it all sorted she has 12 hours before she is set to depart from Atlanta to Orlando to surprise Alex. Kelley decides she’s going to pull out all the stops that she knows will put a smile on Alex’s face. She heads to the store where she picks up a new dog toy for Blue, Alex’s favorite wine, and the pairs favorite snacks (chocolate, gummy bears, and skittles). While waiting in the long line up Kelley starts googling cheesy jokes and memorizing them, she just knows Alex will roll her eyes but secretly love it.

She heads home and begins to pack, first thing in her suitcase is that old sweater of hers Alex loves to wear that Kelley stole back, she makes sure to get the hardcopy of their favorite rom com “What’s You Number” she starts laughing remembering when they first watched in in college arguing over who was better looking Chris Evans or Anna Faris. The decision was much easier for Kelley with the obvious answer being Anna Faris, but Alex claimed it wasn’t fair because she was bisexual and Kelley was gay.

After Kelley packs a couple pairs of clothes and all the reinforcements she bought at the story earlier that day, she decides to post mates some food to her apartment, take a shower and then head to bed. While in the shower Kel was deep in thought knowing Alex would be so happy she was there and had brought all their favorite things with her. Kelley secretly knew she ranked first among the favorites list. She got out of the shower and went to the door to get her food, she brought it back to the table and began eating.

She wonders if Alex is going to read into her actions, Kelley can claim they are out of friendship all she wants, but she knows a part of her wants Alex back but she will always be too proud to admit that. She shakes off the negative feelings and what if’s because they are against the mentality she is trying to live by and instead focuses on intensely chewing her food.

Kelley finishes eating and lays in her bed, setting an alarm, and falling asleep in record timing.

Kelley wakes up to her alarm early in the morning and exclaims “It’s a new day here goes nothing, you have nothing to lose by showing the people you care about just how much they mean to you” and like that she was off.


	2. After all these years, you still feel like coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The US Women's National Team meet for another round of World Cup preparation. The team finds out about the Netflix documentary. Kelley and Alex somehow end up being roommates (definitely not Kelley's doing), and feel a little nostalgic both thinking about different parts of their past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again y'all I don't really know what I am doing so let me know if you think I am doing a good job or if you have any ideas for the fics. Please be gentle my ego is very fragile.

**November 21 st 2018**

It was the third day of camp and Kelley was so happy to be back with the team for a set of friendlies against France. With the World Cup only being 7 months away and preparation in full swing Jill called a larger group into camp to fully analyze the players she wanted to include in her world cup squad.

For both Kelley and Alex national team camps had become routine, a familiar set of faces and the people they seem to spend the most amount of time with. Something about being with this set of girls that 3 years earlier she had won the World Cup with gave Alex everything she needed to put a smile on her face, and a genuine one which seemed rare these days. Kelley was just happy she was able to swing things her way so her and Alex got to be roommates. The camp was being held in Orlando and Alex was a little sad she couldn’t get further away from the place she called home.

Today was a recovery day as the previous day had been filled mainly with fitness testing and grueling experiments to test the girls strengths and weaknesses. With a lighter day in hand the girls met up for an early recovery session before having the afternoon off only having to report back to the team for dinner and a team meeting later on in the night.

Kelley and Alex made plans with Allie, Amy, and Becky to head to Syd’s for the afternoon to hangout by the pool and get some much-needed relaxation and play time with Cassius. Kelley was so excited she loved kids and it wasn’t too often she was in Orlando to be able to hangout with Cassius who seemed to be growing way too fast for her liking.

\--

Kelley and Alex are both trying to share a pool chair arguing over who is taking up more space. Amy chimes in “ you guys argue like an old married couple can you please do your crossword in peace, this day is supposed to be relaxing”

Syd just laughs as Allie holds up her hands claiming she’s innocent and has no part in this. Alex sighs and looks at Kel “lets have a race to see who can finish their crossword the fastest, Allie can be on your team because really she’s no help and I’m confident I am going to win anyways.”

Kelley being a person who will never back down for a challenge agrees and ups the stakes asking what the loser will have to do as punishment.

Alex and Kelley begin arguing again before a neutral third party has to chime in to make the final decision on punishment. Becky being the most logical of the group decides that the loser has to massage the others shoulders and go in to the team dinner tonight in an outfit of the winners choice and stand on the chair singing a song in front of the team. Both agree fully knowing that this embarrassing escapade will end up on social media and subsequently the Internet forever.

Just like that the challenge begins, with intense silence and puzzled faces Alex is writing so fast the answers must not even be legible. The only noises to be heard are those of their teammates in the backround making bets on who is going to win. Amy and Becky choosing Alex, while Syd decides she will switch it up and root for Kel. A few minutes pass by before Alex shoots out of her seat knocking Kelley forward screaming that she is victorious. Kelley tries to argue that she cheated even though it’s not possible and everyone was watching.

All of the girls are laughing, letting loose, and having fun. Other than Kelley who is sulking in her pool chair because she can’t accept the fact that she didn’t win. Alex comes over and hugs Kelley asking her to come inside so they can go look through Syd’s massive closet for something for Kelley to wear that night.

Kelley reluctantly follows Alex inside and towards Syd’s room. The pair are going through the clothes Alex is trying to make a complete outfit while Kelley finds herself laughing harder than she had all day. There’s something so comfortable about the two of them alone together that makes both of them feel like its where they are meant to be.

Alex plops down on the ground, Kelley following suit joking around asking Alex if she is going to cash in on that massage now. Alex decides right now is as good a time as any, and Kelley begins rubbing Alex’s shoulders on the floor of the closet. The pair sit in a comfortable silence for a while Kelley focused on giving Alex a good massage when Alex breaks the silence “ Kel do you know how great it feels be here with you, its like when I’m with you I forget all of the other problems in my life, after all these years you still feel like coming home.”

Kelley lets go of Alex’s shoulders motioning for her to turn around so the pair could face each other. Alex turns around and looks at Kel who begins speaking “Lex I know exactly what you mean, I have a great relationship with my family, I loved my roommates in college, but living with you that was unlike anything else I have ever experienced. The level of comfort that came from crawling into bed at the end of a rough day or falling into our favorite nap position after a brutal day of offseason training. Alex you know you are my…”

Kelley is interrupted by a loud bang followed by Cassius running into the room

Syd chasing not too far behind. Sydney asks the pair if they had found an outfit because they had taken a really long time. Kelley just laughs and tells Syd they hadn’t found the perfect thing yet, choosing to leave out the part where they were really just having a heart to heart on the floor.

Alex gets up and decides on one of the options she had previously picked out before getting distracted and heads back outside to find the rest of their friends.

Kelley picks up Cassius and heads back out to the pool area. Once they get outside Cassius wants to show Kelley his kitchen play set, and Kelley begins playing with him. Kelley is opening all the doors and pretending to eat the imaginary food Cash hands her. She plays tag always letting Cassius’ little legs catch up to her and tag her back and letting him hug her while she twirls him around.

Alex thinks this is the best view in the house watching her best friend interact with one of her favorite children so naturally. Alex catches herself daydreaming about Kelley and what their family could have looked like before she hears Becky “earth to Alex.”

Alex shoots her head up “yeah sorry what’s up”

Becky replies “We have to head back to the hotel for dinner”

Kelley heads inside being the only one who needs to switch into a new outfit before the team dinner. 

\--

The five girls walk into the hotel conference room where they will be eating dinner, the many other women already in the room have confused looks on their faces as they have no idea about the bet that took place earlier that day.

The girls grab dinner and are having a fairly uneventful meal, when Kelley decides to shake things up and stand on her chair beginning to belt out the words to “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce. The room is filled up with questioning stares except for Ashlyn who decides to join in running up to Kelley and pretending to play the air guitar beside her.

The rest of the room is split up between people laughing and videoing the event on their iPhones with the exception of Jill who is sitting in the corner looking like she is going to kill someone (probably Kelley).

After the cheers of the performance died down it was hard to get the crowd of women quiet again, but it turns out them being riled up and in a good mood would suit the events that would unfold.

The rest of dinner finishes with good laughs, subpar meals, and tight muscles as the ladies just want to get their team meeting out of the way so they can be free again for the night.

The women file out of the conference room used for dinner and into another adjacent room filled with chairs and a video screen. This didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary for the women who have had team meetings countless times before.

Once the girls had all settled in their seats arguing over who gets to sit beside who, Kelley obviously getting to sit beside Alex (sorry Allie), Jill walks to the front of the room.

Jill begins by saying “ladies I know you guys are tired from fitness testing yesterday but we have some special guests tonight for the meeting and I think you might be interested in what they have to say.”

Two men in suits enter the room and set up a laptop with a power point ready to present to the girls. The man pulls up a slide with a picture of the 2015 World Cup squad right after their legendary win and begins speaking “ This team has put soccer on the map in North America, you have given little girls role models to look up to, you have shown people that hard work pays off, and most importantly you have grown women’s sport into what it is today.”

“Over the last few years we have seen the NWSL grow, this league has lasted longer than any other women’s soccer league in America, and we have clearly seen the market is there. With the World Cup coming up this summer and the Olympics to follow we are trying to expand women’s soccer and grow the fan base further than what it is today.”

The other man chimes in “ With the lifetime deal the NWSL has been shown across many platforms reaching audiences it otherwise wouldn’t have, and I am pleased to announce that the 2018 LAFC squad will be filming a documentary surrounding it’s inaugural season.”

The man has to pause his well thought out speech to accommodate the cheers of the ladies, once chatter has reached a low enough level again he continues speaking “This documentary will follow the ladies through preseason, training, games, the newest facilities, and of course the preparation for the world cup as the national team players are being shipped to and from camp balancing duties for both club and country.”

“We believe that with the right group of women this documentary has the power to increase NWSL attendance and keep people engaged during the World Cup and beyond. The documentary will be filmed during preseason and the beginning of the season, and with its deal with US Soccer and the NWSL a new episode will air on every game day for the USA during the World Cup, and then continuing to have episodes released on LAFC game days following the World Cup.”

The women are very excited and think this is a great idea they are some of the biggest advocates for growing the game. The first man interrupts one last time “We know you guys are excited, hopefully as excited as us, the only thing was ask is that you keep this to yourselves until we get the chance to announce this publicly. We just thought you deserved to know first.”

Jill walks back from the wall she was leaning on and grabs the microphone “ladies this is an exciting time for us and our team, that’s all we needed from you in the meeting tonight, enjoy the rest of your night off, please meet in the conference room for breakfast tomorrow no later than 7:30.”

 --

Kelley and Alex head back to their room where they are just going to get changed quickly and then meet a couple of their teammates for ice cream to talk about the news they had just found out.

The pair make small talk not wanting to exchange thoughts without all their teammates present, but Alex could just tell Kelley was jittering with excitement like a little kid on Christmas. Kelley walks into the room and grabs her sweater off Alex’s bed.

Alex exclaims “Kelley what do you think you are doing, I am wearing that sweater.”

Kel replies “Lex this is literally my sweater you can’t tell me you are going to wear it.”

“Kelley I called you the night before camp asking you to pack that sweater, you know it is my favorite and I never get to wear it anymore since you stole it back from me, let me wear it” Alex replies back a little more passive aggressively than she had originally intended.

Kelley gives up and lets Alex wear the sweater knowing there’s no sense in arguing with Alex and she doesn’t want to anyways. Kelley loves Utah but can’t help but day dream of a life playing soccer in Los Angeles with her completely platonic best friend.

Alex is rushing Kelley saying that their teammates are waiting in the lobby, Kelley walks to Alex’s suitcases and grabs one of her sweaters and throws it on winking at the other women “ there now we are even, this is one of my favorites of yours as well.”

Once they reach the lobby they are met by the familiar chattering of Tierna, Sam, Christen, Tobin, and Julie. The group heads just up the street to a local ice cream shop for a late night treat. The girls all sit at a picnic table outside the shop when Kelley breaks the small talk “guys this expansion team and this documentary is really something can we please talk about it.”

Kelley is practically bouncing up and down in her seat when Julie puts her two cents in saying “It’s good for the league but I am perfectly happy in Chicago.”

Press replies “I’d be there in a heart beat but if I made another move to further my career I think I would get my head chewed off.”

Tierna and Sam two of the younger players talk about how they can’t wait for the show and how they would do anything to end up on that team. Tierna even mentioning she would pull a Mal and leave college early if the right offer presented itself.

Alex decides to make it competitive as she always does and claims “ you know what if any of us end up there it is going to be me.”

All of the girls know they don’t have the ultimate decision on who LAFC decides to draft and who they set out to gain on the team but the players all definitely have opinions on wanting to end up there.

As the team is all talking over each other arguing over who is going to end up on the team and why, Alex pokes Kelley’s side to get her attention. Kelley looks at Alex who has already begun formulating a plan. “So the first thing we need to do is send out a tweet about how excited we are for a team in California and how it is like home for both of them.”

Kelley and Alex send out nearly identical tweets laughing as they have staked the first claim to be on the newest expansion side. Alex begins yawning and Kelley asks her if they want to head back to the hotel and watch a movie.

The rest of the girls agree to walk back to the hotel together, Alex and Kelley fall a little behind the pack talking about which movie they are going to watch and who is going to be the big spoon as the cuddle and watch the film.

“Hey Al, you know I really do hope we both get LAFC, I know the girls are focused on the documentary and the publicity of it all, but California feels a lot like home to me. I think that would be special.”

Alex replies “ I understand Kels, would you really want to live together if we both moved out there.”

Kelley looks at Alex like she has 10 heads as if the answer wasn’t the most obvious thing on the planet. “Of course Alex what I want to do other than annoy you all day.” Kelley ruins the moment by tickling Alex’s side and making a run for it because she knew the war was on.

The two ended up racing all the way back to the room, Kelley fumbling with the door key as Alex catches up to her and begins tickling her lower back in the spot that she knows drives Kelley crazy. Kelley begins shrieking which draws the attention of almost everyone else on the same floor as them. Kelley grabs Alex’s arm and begs for a truce claiming she is too tired to continue and that she just wants to settle in and watch a movie.

Alex obliges and the pair walk into the room Alex lays on the bed claiming Kelley has to set up the movie because she started the tickle fight. It wasn’t until Kelley was half way through the channels that the girls realized they had been so caught up in their own little world that they hadn’t even said bye to their teammates.

Alex sends a quick text to the group chat apologizing for not saying bye to the girls. Tobin, their loving teammate who loves to tell it like it is replies “It’s okay none of us were shocked, we are used to you guys being off in your own world when we are all together. See you in the morning.” Kelley just laughs it off knowing they had been called out, but Alex on the other hand is blushing questioning her level of friendship with the girl she is about to snuggle up and watch a movie with.

\--

Kelley wakes up realizing she must have fallen asleep during the movie, when she looks down she notices Alex sleeping soundly in her arms, she doesn’t have the heart to wake her up just yet and decides she can wait a few more minutes before having to use the washroom.

Kelley is laying there watching Alex breathe in and out and thinking of how much her life has changed over the last 5 years. Alex was no longer her girlfriend, but here she was cuddled up in Alex’s sweater, Alex in hers, making sure to be perfectly still so the other doesn’t wake up. Kelley gets caught up in thought, sure she may want Alex back but that isn’t realistic things have changed Alex went back to Serv, she could never want that again. Not after what happened last time. Kelley wonders how she let go so easily, how she let a problem as small as distance ruin a love that was so strong. She should have fought, she should have listened to Alex when she fought, instead of just ignoring her and cutting her out of her life like it was easy for her to let go. Kelley still doesn’t understand why Alex ever forgave her when she gave Alex every reason to believe she never truly cared and her method of moving on included hooking up with every girl she ever saw (and not keeping it very much of a secret). Yes she came to her senses before it was too late, she salvaged the friendship, but she would forever have to live knowing she let Alex get away and that she hurt her too bad to ever get her second chance.

Kel began thinking back to last month when she was in Orlando having made the trip to surprise Alex when she was having a hard time.

\--

_Alex hears a knock on her door and wonders who it could be. She wasn’t expecting anyone but she does do a lot of online shopping these days so it was probably just a mailman._

_Alex quickly fixes her messy bun and opens the door what she sees in front of her she thought must be a dream. Kelley is standing there with a small suitcase and her on brand mischievous smirk._

_“Kel omg what are you doing here?”_

_“ I came to surprise you after talking on the phone yesterday I figured you could use a pick me up” Kelley replied._

_Alex just stood there wide eyed “are you really here.”_

_“ So are you going to let me in or what” Kelley asks impatiently._

_Kelley walks past Alex into the living room where she places her suitcase on the trunk and begins to dig through it. Kelley pulls out the presents she brought and places them on the table._

_Alex “Kelley what is all of this? Is this for me?”_

_Kelley begins listing off the items she brought “I brought you your favorite wine, I brought What’s Your Number so we can sit on the couch and gossip and watch out favorite movie, I got all of our classic snacks I even got the sour skittles you like instead of the regular ones and I brought Blue a dog toy because I know he’s your baby and he deserves to be treated great as well.”_

_Alex just pulls Kelley in and starts hugging her, trying to fight back the tears. Her Kelley still knows exactly what to do to make her happy and change her mood around in record timing. “Kells you’re too much, lets do a light training session, come back make dinner and then have a movie night in?”_

_This sounds good to both girls Kelley’s only stipulation that they can have macaroni and cheese and chocolate milk for dinner. Alex makes fun of how much of a child she sounds like but agrees to the conditions anyways._

_After the morning of training and a quick grocery store run the girls head back to Alex’s place to make an early dinner. While Alex was making dinner Kelley makes her way out to Alex’s backyard looking at the view._

_Kelley must have been outside for a while because Alex thinks to go out and check on her. “Kells are you okay you’ve been out here a while?”_

_Kelley turns out of her day dream “Yeah Lex I am good I was just thinking about how weird Orlando is, it doesn’t even have any beaches. The beach is our happy place where we do out best talking, and we can’t do that here. I am just a bit nostalgic I guess.”_

_Alex grabs the back of Kel’s arms and squeezes “I know Kel, hopefully this won’t be my home for much longer. I promise captain kells we have many more beach days to come.”_

_Alex urges Kelley back inside with the promise that she would not enjoy burnt mac and cheese. Kelley follows and it is not long until dinner is served. The two decide to eat dinner in the back yard. Talking mostly about offseason training and the upcoming World Cup and how crazy their schedules will be with the NWSL season and different national team camps._

_The pair head inside with the agreement that Kelley would get the movie snacks and Alex would set up the movie. This is a routine they had been through all too many times before._

 --

Kelley comes back to life as Alex begins stirring in the bed, noticing her surroundings, which seem to be a little ironic to her current thoughts. Alex and Kelley had fallen asleep tonight watching a movie, just like they did the last time they were together. Everything always seems to right with them.

Alex opens her eyes and notices that Kelley is fully awake. She stretches her arms out a little big, pulling herself closer into Kelley’s side looking up at the girl asking what time it is.

Kelley reaches down for her watch “Its 12:15 not too late.”

Alex is confused as to how long she had been asleep for and why Kelley is awake. “Hey Kel what are you doing up is everything okay?”

Kelley just nods her head and promises it is. Alex isn’t quite sure she believes her but knows better than to push the other if she doesn’t want to talk about it. Alex grabs Kelley’s hand and asks her if she wants to go sit out by the back deck and have a late night talk.

Kelley thinks for a minute before asking Alex if its okay if they just lay in bed and fall asleep. Kelley knows that if they stay up too late they wont feel rested for training in the morning. The girl laughs realizing how old she sounds, but is content with a night cuddling up in bed and getting a good sleep anyways.

 Alex just smiles and pulls Kelley closer into herself as the pair fall into a slumber.


	3. She was confiding in someone who wasn’t me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kelley are in an adjustment period learning what it means to live together again even if for a short amount of time. Alex returns to Atlanta with Kelley after the last camp and the pair get into an argument after Kelley receives some good news that Alex doesn’t react to in the right way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back sorry its been a while, work has had me super busy and between travelling and being sick I haven’t found a lot of time to write. Hopefully more updates to come faster than the previous ones have. Let me know what y’all think.

**Dec 7 th 2018**

Alex was just beginning to feel comfortable in Atlanta, she had established a training routine, made some friends, and enjoyed the time she was getting to spend with Kelley.

 --

_After the last national team camp Alex decided she would head home with Kelley and get some double days in to keep fit in the offseason. During the last few nights at camp Kelley had mentioned to Alex that it is easier to train with other people around and she wishes they could be in this environment all the time._

_Although the idea was just mentioned in casual conversation it sparked something inside Alex, it got her thinking Serv is already watching Blue because she has been at camp, she has all of her soccer gear with her, and she could steal all the clothes she wants from Kelley. What’s stopping her from going back to Atlanta with Kelley?_

_Later that night after dinner Alex and Kelley were sitting outside on the porch of their hotel room doing a crossword puzzle and drinking some weird green smoothie Kelley insisted her and Alex try. Alex tries to remain casual when bringing up the topic again._

_“Kells, what do you think of me coming back to Atlanta with you?”_

_Kelley looks up at Alex with a confused look “What do you mean to come visit for a little bit or what are you thinking?”_

_Alex replies “Well you had mentioned its easier to train when there are other people around, and I was thinking of maybe coming up for a while and we could get in some double days of training.”_

_“I don’t exactly know how long I’d stay for but I think it would be a good change for me.” Kelley interrupts “Yes Lex, I would love for you to come back with me, stay however long you want, just remember we have to share a bed because my apartment in Atlanta is only a one bedroom.”_

_Alex thinks hmm that doesn’t sound too bad. The girls fall back into comfortable silence only speaking when one comes up with an answer to the crossword or arguing between two answers that the solution could be._  

\--

Alex and Kelley were getting ready to go out for dinner when Kelley hears her phone begin to ring, Kel asks Alex if she can answer because she was in the bathroom.

Alex walks over and answers the phone seeing that it’s a face time from Kelley’s “frat buddy” Sam Kerr. Alex answers the phone “Hey Sammy, long time no see hows it going”

Kelley walks into the room hearing a familiar voice “You are not who I expected to see on the other end of this call but I am doing okay, been better how about you? Where’s Kel?”

Kelley pops up into the vision of the screen “Hey dude I am here too, what’s up buddy”’

Alex and Kelley sit down on the couch as they listen to Sam explain that earlier that day Nikki had received a call from Pia who explained that she had taken over the LAFC women’s side and wanted to know how Nikki would feel about joining the team.

Both Kelley and Alex were a little shocked by the news neither of them having heard anything from LAFC a club they both wanted to end up with by the start of next season.

Alex trying to be positive begins speaking “ Isn’t that a good thing, its going to be a new club with state of the art facilities, someone is seeing Nikki for her talent this could be huge for her.”

Sam hesitates before explaining “ It’s amazing I am so happy for her, but I cant imagine not playing with her, we have been together through it all at Sky Blue, in Australia, and now in Chicago I can’t imagine playing soccer or living without her, the longest were apart right now is national team camps and that is hard enough.”

Kelley understands the feeling her and Alex did distance and they couldn’t make it work but now wasn’t the time to bring that up “Buddy you can’t think like that, you and Nikki have such a good foundation and hey who’s to say you won’t end up there too?’

The trio talk for a while dissecting the news they had all just found out and discussing many scenarios all of which seem to feel like the world ending to Sam in the moment. It was one of the rare moments Alex had seen the soft side of Sam that Kelley had become accustomed to seeing. 

\--

Kelley leads the way into the restaurant following after Alex who was holding the door waiting for her. The pair are seated in the back corner as per the reservation request Alex had put in.

Since being in Atlanta Alex had taken it upon herself to try and find places Kelley hadn’t been so they could experience them together for the first time. Alex was especially excited for tonight because this restaurant was nice enough that they got to dress up.

The duo looked through the menu picking on a few options they knew they both liked because whether they wanted to admit it or not they knew they would both be sharing their meals with each other. Alex decided on a chicken sandwich with a salad, and Kelley ordered a seafood linguine pasta dish that she knew Alex would love.

After the waitress came back with their drinks and finished taking their order, Alex noticed that Kelley was quieter than normal and holding on to her wine glass a little too tight. Both being too stubborn to talk about their problems without a little prodding Alex decides its best to get it out of the way and just ask Kelley what’s up.

When Alex calls out Kelley’s name, Kelley is shaken out of the daze she was in, immediately knowing she was caught and may as well just come out and say what’s on her mind.

Kelley takes a sip of her wine before beginning to talk “ I don’t really know how to explain what I am feeling right now, I guess I am just a little bummed I have this fantasy in my head of me going to LAFC and hearing today that Nikki got a call makes me think the team is being formed and I am not apart of it”

Alex understands where Kelley is coming from “Kells Bells, I understand we have no control over where we end up and just because we want to end up there doesn’t mean we will, it sucks not being able to control our future but for now all we can do is hope that we end up there.”

Kelley decides its probably best to just leave the topic there because they both know there is more to this conversation and if they get much deeper with the feelings they are both having and the wine in their system it is a recipe for disaster. Kelley continues thinking about how she wants to end up in LA with Alex, especially after Sam was talking about her fears with doing long distance with Nikki a lot of it hit close to home with her relationship or lack there of with Alex. Kelley was trying to shake the feeling knowing she ruined her relationship with Alex, and it was what it was now trying to be present in the friendship and the time they do have together now.

The food arrives shortly after a thankful distraction from the pair giving them something new to focus on and talk about. The two eat their meals enjoying the restaurant and the environment it had created allowing the pair to settle into the night in a more positive manner.

The pair fall into the familiar bickering and conversation that never seems to get old as the time passes by and the night comes to a close. Alex asks if its okay if they stop at the store on the way home because she has to pick up some shaving cream and a new face lotion.

Not too long after the girls stop at a local drug store, Kelley is pissing Alex off by picking up items from around the store and making up dumb puns about the items, Alex pretends to be annoyed but secretly she loves Kelley’s lame dad jokes. The two are having so much fun in the store their laughs filling up the small store so that everyone can hear them.

As they head around to the next aisle an older woman approaches the girls “There was a time where I laughed as loud as you did with the person I loved the most, hold onto that for as long as you can people don’t stick around forever.” Alex smiles at the lady not wanting to get into the fact that they weren’t actually a couple “ Thank you, I promise I’m not letting her out of my sight anytime soon.”

The two check out at the store and continue their drive home, Alex turns down the music and begins telling Kelley how much she misses Blue. This was the first time Kelley had really thought about the fact that Alex had been in Atlanta for almost 3 weeks now and that sooner or later she would have to return home. 

\--

Both Alex and Kelley had stayed up a little later than intended after their dinner the night before having sat in their parked car talking about life for longer than planned.

Kelley noticed the time when it was 1:36 and mentioned to Alex that they should probably head inside if they still wanted to be rested to get up for the training they had intended to go to the following morning at 8am.

The next morning Kelley was extra perky and Alex was more tired then she expected and she knew it was just going to be one of those days when every little thing Kelley did would get on her nerves. She tried to be patient and reason it out to them being together for the last five weeks and they hadn’t been together this long consecutively for about two years now.

Alex decides she will drive because she knows this will give her a good distraction from her growing annoyance to the company beside her. The two begin their training Alex a little more aggressive than normal channeling it into a competitive challenge in their morning sprints and shooting drills.

Their usual training drains the two as they were much more into it than normal and by the time they are finished and head back to Kelley’s apartment, Alex decides it will be okay if she just lays down while Kelley makes them lunch. Alex falls asleep and Kelley doesn’t have the heart to wake her because she looks so peaceful she instead decides to put Alex’s lunch in the fridge and heads back to the living room to eat her lunch.

While eating her lunch Kelley’s phone starts ringing it was a number she didn’t recognize but the number was from LA. She answers the phone and on the other end hears “Hello is this Kelley?”, Kelley knows the familiar voice on the other end of the phone.

“Hello Pia, is that you?” The two already knew each other from Pia’s days coaching the national team. “Yes, I didn’t know if you would still have the same phone number but figured I would try calling you anyways.”

Kelley eagerly answers “Yes I do and I am here.” Pia goes into detail explaining how she has been chosen to coach LAFC and in putting together her idea for the brand of soccer she wants to bring to the club she thinks that Kelley would be a great addition to the personnel she is trying to compile to have a season no expansion team has had before.

Kelley listened intently not wanting to miss anything Pia had said. Pia finished out the conversation by saying she hasn’t had official confirmation from teams yet on how they would being doing the draft but if it was similar to the expansion draft of 2015 for the Orlando Pride that she knew Kelley would be protected but she felt like she had a good enough working relationship with Laura Harvey that she could make a trade happen if the right people fell into her hands.

Kelley thanked Pia for her time and rushed to wake up Alex buzzing at the prospect of potentially playing in LA. When Alex was shaken awake she was infinitely more angry than she was when she had fallen asleep, still tired and groggy Kelley began talking a mile a minute about her conversation with Pia which only made Alex more mad. Alex is mad that she didn’t get enough sleep, she is mad that she is hungry, she is mad about her last season in Orlando, she is mad that Kelley just woke up her up, she is mad at the world however she is mostly mad that everyone seemed to be getting calls from Pia except for her.

In the heat of the moment Alex gets so mad about her current circumstances that she storms out of the apartment explaining that she is going for a walk and she needs to clear her head. Alex walks out of the apartment looking back to see Kelley’s broken puppy dog eyes as she leaves. Alex knows she isn’t being logical but she is so mad right now she can’t even think straight. She begins walking towards the beach spot her and Kelley love cursing about everything she can think of not being able to calm herself down.

Once Alex gets to her normal beach spot she sits down and watches the water trying to calm her breathing and get back into a neutral state. She begins focusing on her breathing and her mind starts to slow down a little bit. She feels bad because she’s happy for Kelley that she has this opportunity and she didn’t mean to make this about her. Alex knew she had fucked up and that she was being ridiculous but she’s to embarrassed to face Kelley again just yet and hopes that Kelley doesn’t hold too much of a grudge like she is known to do.

Alex sits by the water for about an hour having a little bit of a meltdown and a minor cry at the way her life is developing. She knows she has to head back to the apartment with her tail between her legs and try to talk to Kelley who she knew she hurt very badly. 

\--

Kelley hears the door open and at this point she has been alone with her thoughts for long enough that she has developed at least half the rage that Alex had left the apartment with.

Usually Kelley is understanding of Alex and her feelings she wants to be the one to soothe the pain and she knows all too well what its like to have mood swings and say things you don’t mean out of anger. But this time it hurt.

Alex knew how much she wanted this and she understood the Alex was probably jealous, but Kelley knew if roles were reversed she would of put her own jealousy aside to make the day special for Alex and about her rather than put on a show like Alex had.

Alex knocked on Kelley’s door and walked in after Kelley replies “What do you want?”

“Kel look I know I fucked up, I should have been excited for you and instead I overreacted and lost the part that was supposed to be most important in all of this.”

Kelley just rolls her eyes “Yeah you sure did, thanks for that” before closing her closet and walking out of her room. Kelley is fuming at this point what did Alex just expect for her to flock to her and say everything is okay and comfort her? Sure this is what Kelley would normally do. Kelley knows her love knows no bounds and usually she can put everything aside because she loves Alex so much she just wants to make sure she’s okay but this.. this was different.

Kelley walked out of the room and Alex sat on the edge of the bed placing her head in her hands and beginning to cry once again. Alex knew she really messed this up and yet she was somehow madder than before knowing that Kelley didn’t try to comfort her like she normally would. 

\--

Kelley walked out onto her back porch and sat down trying to rack her brain of what to do. Kelley was known to be impulsive and do things she later wished she could take back and she was really trying to work on this. She had so many ideas of things she could do or say but she knew they wouldn’t help anything in the long run so she settles on calling Christen, this she thought was the adult thing to do.

Christen knew Kelley in a way nobody else really did, she watched Kelley go through some of the hardest times in her life and had a patience with her that was unprecedented and Christen always knew exactly what to do to talk Kelley down from making a bad decision.

When Christen answered the phone she could hear Kelley’s heavy breathing and immediately went into her protective mom mode “ Darling hey what’s wrong, what’s happening?”

Kelley begins spewing out a long string of words and half thoughts that weren’t yet coming together to make sense to Christen. Christen begged Kelley to calm down and tell her what happened from the beginning. Kelley began telling Christen about her call from Pia and how she was excited and she had woken Alex up, and then how Alex reacted. Kelley was just beginning to explain what happened when Alex came back and how she was feeling about it all. 

\--

Alex walked out into the living room trying to find Kelley to talk to her when she saw her on the back deck. Alex quietly opened the back door now able to hear Kelley’s whole conversation she was kind of frozen in place thinking of what to do next.

Alex stands there listening “Christen I don’t know even when me and Alex broke up the first time it was never really like this, I shut off my feelings so I couldn’t get hurt before, but this time it felt like my heart was being ripped out. I know that she is having such a rough time and I want more than anything to be able to take that pain away from her, I would do anything I would wear her pain if that meant I got to see her smile everyday. Fuck Christen I love her so much and usually I would swallow my own pride and hurt and comfort her and make her feel better for hurting me, even though I am the one she made upset. I know you think that’s stupid and that I need to put myself first but that’s who I am that’s who she makes me.”

Kelley was quiet for a while probably listening to what Christen had to say on the other end. Alex was still just standing at the backdoor wondering what Christen was saying and if she should even be listening. Kelley begins speaking again “ I know Chris but this time was different I didn’t just make her feel better, I’m mad I am really mad, and I know she is mad how am I supposed to get through this. How do I let her know this hurt me as badly as it did.”

Alex decided she had invaded enough and she slowly stepped back closing the back door and walking to the bedroom. Her mind was spinning how was she ever going to make this up to Kelley, how was she going to show her she was sorry. Alex hates herself, she hates that she did this to Kelley after Kelley was nice enough to drop everything to fly to her, after Kelley opened up her apartment to Alex for the last almost month so she didn’t have to face the reality of being upset alone in Orlando. Alex thinks to her self I am mostly just mad that she was confiding in someone that wasn’t me. Instead of us getting closer together I drove us further apart. Alex grabs her favourite pillow and heads out for the couch she figures that’s the least she can do for Kelley right now, she can at least give her space. 

\--

When Kelley walks inside and back into her room she notices Alex isn’t there, she fights her immediate urge to go check where she is and try and make everything right. She knew this wasn’t her fight to fix.

Kelley puts on her pajamas and lies in her bed, suddenly feeling how empty it feels to be alone. Kelley used to relish about the amount of space her bed had to offer now she just feels like something is missing. Kelley lays in the dark, wishing Alex would just come in and try and talk to her, she tries to be strong enough to not go out there and try and just make everything better. Kelley has this instinctive urge to mend, to make people happy, to make things better.

All she can think about is how she isn’t even worth it to Alex to try and fix, how she couldn’t even reach out to make sure she was okay. How Alex could just go to bed when things had gotten so bad. Didn’t Alex care about her half as much as she cared about Alex?

Kelley rolls over to Alex’s side of the bed and falls asleep clinging to a pillow that smells like Alex with tears streaming down her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes good intentions don’t come across so good? Doesn’t it suck when someone thinks they are doing the right thing like Alex thinks giving Kelley space is the right thing to do but really it just makes Kelley think Alex doesn’t care? Isn’t it interesting to see how people’s minds work and react to things so differently.


End file.
